Excellent condition Fairchild 412-2. Dual belt design (first belt goes from motor shaft to a capstan, then second belt goes from capstan to the outer rim of the aluminum platter. Nicely isolates vibrations from the motor. Plinth or case seems to be original. The motor is a Pabst - same excellent motor used in Thorens and Empire turntables from the 1950s and 1960s. I have owned this turntable for around 2 years. No problems of any kind. The heavy aluminum platter uses the same integrated shaft and ball bearing design as Rek-o-Kut turntables, Garrard, Thorens, etc. Not pictured is the underneath of the turntable, a metal cage which nicely houses the motor, belt drives and makes subsequent mounting of this turntable in a plinth of your own making a snap. The flywheel or rim portion of the turntable which accepts the second belt is hidden by the mounting method so the belts are not seen from the top. I have an extra set of belts from LP Gear which have not been used and these are included. I also snagged an original copy of the manual for the 412-2 and that is included too! The original mat which came with the turntable was not much to speak of and I fashioned another mat out of black, thin foam. You may want to get or make your own mat. The middle ring around the spindle lifts up to accept 45s - no silly adapters needed - nifty! This turntable plays both 33 1/3 and 45 speeds and can be switched with the round black knob depicted in one of the photos. The switching of speeds is facilitated by moving the first belt to a different sized pulley - simple. The underneath section of the speed knob is green plastic, which, when underlit, produces a night green glow - style! The tonearm you see in the photo, a Sumiko Premier MMT is not included in the asking price. If you want the tonearm, which I prefer over the Rega RB250 tonearm, which originally came with this turntable, the tonearm price is $200. The only issue with the tonearm is the cueing lever does not work. I have used the tonearm for over a year and the bass response I get, in my opinion, betters the RB250, and holds its own with a SME 3009/2 I have as well. I live near Chicago, Illinois and would love if the buyer was close enough to pick up the turntable in person. If shipping is a must I will pack this like it will be going to the North Pole! The platter will be removed and packed separately, underneath the turntable. Buyer will pay only for the cost of actual postage, with insurance, and will not have to pay for packaging materials. Spike feet (which I installed and greatly bettered the brittle rubber feet which had disintegrated) will be removed. The entire unit will be double boxed to further prevent any damage. If the tonearm is purchased it will be packaged separately as well. I recently looked around and I just have too many turntables. My main turntable is a Garrard 401. I often have a couple of fellow jazz LP freaks come over and the last time we got together they could not decide which turntable sounded better - my Garrard 401 with a JMW 9 tonearm, and Clearaudio Arum Wood Classic, or the Fairchild, Sumiko arm, and Grado Sonata Reference! (If you want the Grado Sonata Reference cartridge, which originall cost me $800) and likely has close to half its life to go - I would want $300. I think you might be able to even use it to upgrade on trade but would need to check with Grado for that) This Fairchild holds it own with the more coveted and pricier turntables, including the Thorens TD 124, which I have heard in my set up. Any questions please email me at hardbop33@hotmail.com.
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